The present invention provides simple, fast, efficient and flexible communications apparatus, method and protocol between a plurality of electronic devices communicating over a common medium in a communications system.
Prior designs and existing communications apparatus and methods have distinct drawbacks. Some use master-slave protocols that are simple but inefficient. Some use multiple access protocols that allow collisions requiring either complex hardware or software. Some use token passing protocols that are both inefficient and complex. Operations in either or both master/slave or peer-to-peer communications modes are desirable over an extended product lifetime.